About Time
by gvae-Fullmetal-94
Summary: Just like that, the video of an exploding mountain replayed itself. Again. Again. Over and over. -Just a one-shot, basically the way Darkest should have ended, in my opinion. Drama/Romance, mainly drama. Birdflash. Sorry if you don't like.


**Soooo...**

**I'm really super duper sorry I haven't updated Diary of a Page. I have no excuses. I know. Buuuut... I did kinda spill water aaallll over my computer and had to get it fixed. When I got it back a week later, I got just pumbled by writer's block. Then school happened. I'm trying really really hard to make this one a good one. **

**But while I try to fix my like three months absence, have some birdflash. c:**

**This is pretty much my take on what _should_ have happened in Darkest, episode eight of Young Justice: Invasion.**

**Disclaimer: Basically everything in this belongs to DC. I totes wish I owned it. Then it would end like this.**

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"This is Cat Grant. Thank you for tuning in to GBS."

Just like that, the older blonde disappeared from the screen.

Just like that, the video of an exploding mountain replayed itself.

Again.

Again.

Over and over.

Fire shooting from the earth as rock flew to the sky, crashing to the ground below, water creating waves, the surrounding forest going up in flames, shocking the neighboring harbor.

I couldn't see anything else but the fire even after I took off, my feet hitting the pavement that quickly turned to dirt. Time seemed to stop as I blindly ran, everything freezing up around me. My mind was replaying the explosion. Every time it stopped, it would start again. They were in that mountain. They were all there.

What if they didn't make it out? What if just one of them was caught in the explosion? What if they got burned? What if they were killed? Would it all be worth it?

I felt myself skid to a stop at the base of the mountain. The whole place was desecrated. I guess being blown up can do that to an entire mountain. I ran around the crater searching every inch. The fire still raged in the trees that weren't incinerated by the initial explosion, the lower levels duck deep into the earth had caved in, bits of metal were thrown around the beach, and the force of the explosion had created a massive wave, completely unstable for me to run across, so I was stuck just running aimlessly around the mountain. The entire scene almost made my heart stop.

"No one's here…"

I knew my voice come out in a wavering, hysterical mess. I knew my eyes were as wide as they could possibly get. I knew my hair was wind-blown and ratted from the force of my running. All in all, I knew I looked like I was an escaped inmate at Gotham's crazy island.

Before I even realized I had been running, I came to a stop at the Hall of Justice, my hands slamming into the doors to keep me from breaking my nose. The sensors kicking in made the door open a minute too slow. I ran passed a tour group, heading straight for the entrance to the meeting room, fidgeting as the sensor scanned me.

"Recognized; Kid Flash, B03."

Once I was actually inside, I could feel the realization of everything fall on my shoulders, weighing me down.

He could have died! This was all our fault – all _my_ fault – for going along with this crazy plan, and for even coming up with some of it! We were crazy! Just as crazy as the people we helped put away! How could we think we even stood a chance in this invasion? Everyone we cared about will hate us, if they're not dead already! Our mentors, our family; I don't even want to think about what they'll do. How could we – _I_ – let it get this far? Having people under cover was one stretch, but getting teammates – _kids _– taken was another.

What the hell did I think I was doing?

"What. Happened." My tone was harsh, my voice gritty, but I didn't care. I was mad, I was stupid, and I needed someone to be there slapping my face to wake me up from this nightmare.

Nightwing was sitting at the table with a ceramic mug in both hands, almost as if he had been waiting for me. He slowly set the mug down, his eyes never leaving the dark liquid. "It was necessary."

Necessary? The word kept ringing through my head. Since when was blowing up our team's base? It was even some of our friends' home! How could that possibly be necessary? And did we _mean_ for three new members to get kidnapped? Was that also _necessary_?

"It better have been. Spill." I demanded to know just what part of that could possibly have been necessary?

"Aqualad needed to find a way to help us rescue Lagoon Boy." He didn't move a muscle, his expression fixed on the mug. Being trained by Batman kind of helps, but I know him. "He'd already injected a microscopic tag into L'gaan's bloodstream and used the raid on the Cave to pass us essential intell." How can I not notice the way his voice never wavered, just like he was trained to do when he was getting emotionally involved? The slight tremor in his hands as he spoke wouldn't have been noticeable to anyone else. "A flash drive with, among other things, tracking software that can locate the tag."

All of this didn't even register in my mind. Necessary risks to get L'gaan back. L'gaan.

My eyes narrowed. "Like that's all he did."

"Wally," Nightwing stood up, hands on the table. His masked features finally looking at me. "He had to make it look good. He put inhibitor collars on us, but he knew I'd get us out of them."

"He took three more hostages!" I pointed accusingly at him. "Members of your own team!"

Members that we put in danger. Members that I put in danger. Members that were kids. They were young kids just starting out in the business, and I helped put them in danger.

"And we'll rescue them when we rescue Lagoon Boy!"

He just wasn't getting it. Before I even realized what I was doing, my anger got the better of me. I grabbed the front of his uniform, the harshly armored fabric balling in my fists as I brought him closer to my face.

"Dick! He blew up the Cave! You guys almost died!" I shouted.

"No." His hands wrapped around my wrists, taking me aback by the gentle grip. "It's all on the flash drive. He knew I'd have to pursue in order to make it look legit. And that's exactly what happened. He gave us time to get out." His head dipped slightly, his tone finally showing he was disappointed about the way it all happened. "We just, we got caught in the debris from the explosion."

"Do you even hear yourself? What if even one of you had been left behind, huh?"

He turned away from me. That only heightened my anger. How could he just be so calm about this? It was an explosion. The Mountain exploded, leaving a crater in the earth and a forest fire for the locals. It had almost killed him.

"Why take that risk?! Why go to such extremes?!"

"The drive explains that too." He sighed and turned back to me, leaning against the table. "He needed to cement his position with the Light, and the Light's partner."

"Isn't that why he 'murdered' Artemis?" I asked, condescendingly using air quotes.

"I guess it didn't convince everyone." He almost whispered.

Hearing just that small amount of emotion coming from the usually stoic Nightwing façade made me lose it.

"_You guess_?!" I shouted. My eyes widened as my eyebrows furrowed even more, my anger plain on my face.

He pushed off the table, finally showing his own anger. "The Cave is– _was_ –just a place! Worth sacrificing if it helps us stop the Invasion!" He lifted his arms up on either of his side, leaning back slightly. "Look, I'm sorry you lost all of your souvenirs!"

Everything stopped. The world seemed to go by at a snail's pace for another minute. My hands shot out.

"_Are you serious_?!" I heard myself scream.

Nightwing fell back onto the chair he had been sitting in, almost knocking over backwards. He grabbed the sides of the chair quickly, his face stoning up, blocking all emotion.

"I don't care about that junk!" I threw my arms up. At this point I knew I was hysterical. "I care about you! I was terrified for you!"

Even with his mask on, I could tell his eyes widen about twice the size they originally were. His mouth opened slightly in disbelief before his voice came out in a whisper. "You… You were worried about me? What about-?"

"Of course I was worried about you!" I yelled. My hands ran through my frizzed-out hair, making it stand on end. "You're so much more than my best friend, Dick!"

"Wally, what do you…?"

His voice trailed off when I moved. Kneeling on the cushion, my hands gripping the arms of the chair, I leaned forward until my lips were pressed firmly onto his, silencing anything more he had to say. All of my aggression quickly faded when I felt him respond, one of his hands gently touching my jaw. I kept my lips against his as I continued softly.

"You almost died, Dick. You're my everything, and you were almost taken away from me before I could even show you."

He leaned back, keeping his hand lightly on my cheek and whispered, "What about Artemis?"

"I love Artemis, but she's nothing compared to you." I slowly lifted my hands. My nails ripped at the spirit glue holding his mask in place, gently taking it off. I couldn't help the smile my mouth formed when his dark blue eyes shined at me. "Now don't go blowing yourself up again."

With a loud cackle, he grabbed my back, pulling me down on his lap, his lips connecting softly with mine. I blinked at his smirk.

"It's about damn time."

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**Ooooh man, I hope you liked that. Not very long, but it accomplished what I wanted and appeased my feels. Hope it did the same for you. :3**


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